Let the Adventure Begin

I ask all blessings,

I ask them with reverence,

of my mother earth,

of the sky, moon, and sun my father.

I am old age: the essence of life,

I am the source of all happiness.

All is peaceful, all in beauty,

all in harmony, all in joy.

~Anonymous Navajo

San Luis Obispo 2011

Pastel on Wallace with watercolor underpainting

Can you believe it? We are already a week into 2012! For the most part, I just finished cleaning up the last days of 2011!

I returned from spending the New Year with friends in San Diego, to emptying the hall closet for plumbing work, in the midst of yet unpacked luggage and Christmas ornaments. I pretty much have it all under control now and am feeling ready to get going with the new adventure of 2012.

My friend Karen, from Italian class, and I have decided to broaden our culinary repertoires this year so we began that little adventure Friday night. I had purchased a cookbook for my niece Rachel (Italian Country Cooking by Loukie Werle) for Christmas, which it turns out she already had, so I kept the book and this was the result ...

Guazzetto di pesce e fagioli

3 tablespoons evoo

2 large cloves of garlic (I used 3 and we halved the recipe!)

1/4 tsp chili flakes

1 pd cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup dried cannellini or great northern beans, cooked

good handful flat-leafed parsley coarsely chopped

4 white fish fillets, about 6 oz each (we used cod) cut into 2 inch pieces or left whole

lemon wedges and grilled bread (it was so yummy we didn't used the lemon)

So easy! (And better than it looks) Basically you are heating olive oil, throwing in garlic, a small amount of red pepper flakes, the white wine and halved cherry tomatoes over a medium heat. After that gets warmed up and the tomatoes soft, you throw in cooked cannellini beans and chopped parsley and cook another 5 minutes. Lay the fish on top and season with salt. Put the lid on and cook for about 10 minutes.

We started eye -balling everything because we used canned beans and they were absorbing the liquid so we added more wine (before adding the fish) and of course, as always, I more than doubled the garlic.

mmmm ... The recipe is definitely a keeper! It was delicious!!!

That night we watched a very entertaining documentary about an Italian guy in Rome, who put together a multi-ethnic orchestra of immigrants living in the Piazza Vittorio area. It was great seeing these musicians come together from different backgrounds and religions and create wonderful, fun music together.

At first the main guy has trouble finding musicians. When he asks around the neighborhood, if anyone knows anyone who plays, you'll see in the trailer, everyone shaking their heads no. The documentary is subtitled in English. Unfortunately, the trailer isn't, but you don't really need it. :)

Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio

Let brotherly love continue.

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers:

for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Hebrews 13.2

Hope your 2012 is off to a great start!

Blessings and light!